BAKKEN NEWS


Thursday, December 8, 2011 ■ Page 5 EPA says fracking moratorium fears unfounded


By JENNY MICHAEL Bismarck Tribune


The Environmental Protection Agency said fears a moratorium will be placed on hydraulic fracturing are unfounded. The agency is in the process of conducting a


congressionally-ordered study of hydraulic frac- turing, also known as “fracking.” Hydraulic frac- turing is used to retrieve natural gas and oil and is widely used in North Dakota’s oil fi elds. Pres- surized fl uids, which can include small amounts of diesel, are forced into fractures to extract the wanted substances. From the study, the EPA plans to issue guide- lines for states such as North Dakota to issue permits for use of hydraulic fracturing involving diesel. The EPA has authority under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to make sure hydraulic fracturing operations do not pollute drinking waters when diesel fuels are used in the process- es, the agency said.


ND tribe bans fracking Continued from page 1


Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in west-central North Dakota, home to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes, known as the Three Affi liated Tribes.


The tribes’ chairman, Tex Hall, said oil has brought promise but also problems to the reservation, which is home to half of the tribes’ 12,000 members.


“The tribe saw the potential for disaster and is really


taking a bold stand.” – Turtle Mountain Tribal Elder Carol Davis


A tax agreement between the state


and the tribes that began in July 2008 has generated $66 million in oil tax revenue for the state and $31 million for the tribes, state Tax Department records show. The tribes also have


collected more than $182 million in lease payments from oil companies for rights to drill on tribal land. Unemployment has dropped from


50 percent on the reservation to about 25 percent with plentiful jobs in the oil patch and support industries, Hall said. At the same time, the infl ux of cash has spurred more crime, traffi c, alcoholism and drug use, he said. Carol Davis, a Turtle Mountain


tribal elder, said she was proud of her tribe for banning hydraulic fractur- ing on the reservation. “The tribe saw the potential for


disaster and is really taking a bold stand,” she said. Davis said she has relatives on the


Fort Berthold reservation who have reaped fi nancial benefi ts from oil de- velopment there. “I’m basically telling my relatives


to put that money in the bank, be- cause they will be buying water from us,” she said.


“The guidance document is not intended to


be a regulatory document and would not itself require any state to change its regulations,” Jim Martin, administrator of the EPA Offi ce of Wa- ter, said in a statement to the Tribune. “In fact, it is based on existing best practices in use by the industry today.” The issue of the EPA’s study has been a point


of discussion in North Dakota for some time. In early November, legislators included $1 million in a disaster relief bill to allow the state Industrial Commission to join lawsuits involving potential EPA regulation of hydraulic fracturing. In comments to the Tribune for a story that


ran Nov. 26, Lynn Helms, director of the De- partment of Mineral Resources, indicated it was possible the EPA could put a moratorium on hy- draulic fracturing as soon as January. However, Helms since has said he was not predicting that as an outcome. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a state- ment Nov. 29 the EPA has clarifi ed it will not put


a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. Hoeven arranged a conference call Nov. 29 with EPA of- fi cials, in which the agency said it will provide a process for the state of North Dakota to com- ment on the guidelines before they are fi nalized. The state will continue as the primary regulator of hydraulic fracturing. Cynthia Dougherty, EPA’s director of the Of-


fi ce of Ground Water and Drinking Water, said in the call that the agency is working on a defi - nition of diesel. Martin, in his statement to the Tribune, said the EPA will provide additional opportunities for states, the public and other stakeholders to comment on its draft guidance as soon as it is ready. “The American people do not have to choose


between securing an available energy resource and protecting its drinking water from pollu- tion,” his statement said. “They can have and de- serve both.” (Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 701-250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)


“Mitchell’s is always seeking highly motivated employees.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12